A well fed crew is a happy crew

Among the cruising truths I had to relearn was how important it is to have easy meals prepared in advance.

The stove was gimbaled, but apparently still not level…lopsided cake is a hazard of galley cooking.

People, this is cruising 101. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I glossed completely over it in our preparation. Apparently, I really thought I’d be cooking pasta, dicing tomatoes and cutting up pineapples as we worked our way up the coast.

The first leg up to Pittwater was motoring in flat water. Easy. But Pittwater to Port Stephens was such a roller coaster ride, the best I could do was throw a bunch of veggies, lentils and some couscous in the pressure cooker with water and make curry mush. It was good enough, and it stuck to bowls (hot, liquid soups are a menace to eat in a seaway!).

At least it only took one leg for me to relearn this. Before we left Port Stephens, I cooked up a storm. We had a pumpkin cake, banana bread, brownies, cornbread, chili, baked beans, prepared salads and more. Minimal effort (and no boiling water!) required.